The recent surge in Americans pointing to references to god in our national documents and proclaiming them as evidence of a “Christian nation” is indeed a legitimate threat to the freedom from religion. There’s also a disturbing claim by the historical revisionists that when we see or hear about “god” in any number of public contexts, that we are not hearing about “god” at all.

This non-god has been explained away as a transcendent force to revere in moments requiring solemnity. It is part of “ceremonial deism” instead of “public worship.” It is alleged to unite Americans for the grand purposes of the nation.

This non-god also requires a number of public servants to swear on books dedicated quite explicitly to named deities. It appears in nearly all state constitutions. Most notably, it is virtually unknown to the majority of the American public whose varying combinations of ignorance, apathy and faith-based hostility make them understandably believe that this non-god is exactly what his nametag says: God.

This movement poses two considerable threats to nontheists: The deceptive claim of inclusivity ­— alleged to be inclusive because no particular religion’s deity is being invoked by the word “god” — and the demonstrably false narrative that the word has a nonreligious meaning in our national documents.

Michael Novak claims that words like “god” in these contexts are “like pointers, which each person must define for himself. Their function is to protect the liberty and conscience of all, by using a symbol which transcends the power of the state and any earthly power.” Catholic scholar William T. Cavanagh says that “god” here is not a deity but a placeholder, “swept clean out of reverence for the transcendent.”

It is a testament to the total saturation of religious dogmas that the virtue of subservient humility to some invisible force (Nature, Wisdom, the Golden Rule) is so prevalent that even those without strong religious convictions are aghast when atheists refuse to submit.

In the courts, a similarly ludicrous claim that “god” is not religious has held up for nearly three decades. In Lynch v. Donnelly, for example, courts claimed that these words “have lost through rote repetition any significant religious content.”

Decisions to keep god in the Pledge of Allegiance and in the national motto are egregious examples of judicial doublethink. It is either meaningless because of rote repetition or imperative to solemnize national occasions, but it cannot simultaneously be both. If the word is so rote as to have lost religious significance, then its removal to eliminate a threat to the Establishment Clause is clearly a more compelling interest than avoiding the inconvenience of editing the documents.

Repetition is precisely what has given it religious meaning. Its deep saturation in the national language causes ordinary citizens to believe that it is an essential thread in the fabric of our national identity and, by extension, that those who reject god are un-American.

The truth is, god arrived in a number of these places much more recently than those defending his presence will acknowledge. It is no coincidence that the additions occurred in the 1950s, one of the most regrettably reactionary decades in American history, in reaction to the perceived threat of “godless communism.”

A lack of foresight from the authors of state constitutions and the frenzied zealotry of the Red Scare are mistakes I can forgive. But the continued denial that there was any mistake in adding “god” to a secular nation’s documents is intellectually dishonest and constitutionally unsound, particularly as the number of self-identified unbelievers grows. The courts cannot continue to claim that these objections are only unreasonable nitpicking by a whiny intelligentsia.

If we ever hope to claim that we are a country willing to do whatever it takes to let people of all religious identifications in on freedom of and from religion, then we must be willing to write god out.

Alana Massey, 26, has a bachelor’s from New York University with a history major and African studies minor. She’s in her second year of a Yale University master’s program in religion and has also started coursework in development studies at Yales. Alana writes: “Although the setting of a divinity school may seem an odd place for an atheist, I have found that studying religion amidst future religious leaders and similarly academically oriented nonbelievers to be instrumental to a robust understanding of the many dimensions of religious belief that dominate the country. My nonacademic interests include cycling, activism, exceptionally bad action movies and even worse pop music.”

The influence of religion on American politics is nothing new. From the establishment of the first colonies, Western European groups seeking religious freedom and tolerance instituted their own versions of Christianity in their respective colonies. They passed so-called “blue laws” to regulate behavior and business on Sundays, many of which are still in force. Those who failed to live up to these religious norms were severely punished. While the hypocrisy was lost on these first European-Americans, it was not so with Thomas Jefferson.

As one of the foremost authors of the Constitution, Jefferson reflected on the European experiences of absolute monarchy and constitutional monarchy. Seeking to build on the freedoms obtained during Britain’s Glorious Revolution, in which the role of Parliament was strengthened and certain individual freedoms were guaranteed, he devised the Establishment Clause creating a “wall of separation between church and state.” No longer would a nation be obliged to shift between religions as its rulers came and went.

As then-President Jefferson wrote later in a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association, “Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his god, . . . I contemplate with the sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state.”

Despite attempts by Jefferson and others to keep religion out of government, its reach into public institutions and spaces remained alarmingly high. At times, it was blatant. Members of Congress stood up in the House and Senate to proclaim that such and such proposal was a violation of God’s law, citing passages from scripture. Slavery, Jim Crow laws, interracial marriage bans, prohibitions on homosexuals and even gender discrimination all have deep religious roots.

While tempered to some extent, religion still plays a key role. Same-sex marriage is banned in most states. Scientific research is hampered by onerous restrictions as a result of Christian beliefs that stem cells are actual human beings. Women die because they are refused abortions in Catholic hospitals when their own lives are in danger. Even something as banal as gays serving in the military was prohibited until being overturned this year after a grueling struggle.

It’s high time that Americans come to terms with the numerous injustices which have been committed in their names by religious zealots. By so doing, our democratic institutions can be purged of religious influences and once again serve a noble purpose.

Fortunately, with the number of religious Americans declining, the time is ripe. Through grassroots efforts, voter education and registration, and collective lobbying, America can once again become that land of equality and opportunity which attracted so many immigrants to its shores.

Robert Kalonian, 30, was born in Yerevan, the capital of Soviet Armenia. When Robert was young, his grandfather told him the harrowing story of surviving the Armenian genocide, which started in 1915 and sparked Robert’s interest in history and politics. His family moved to Los Angeles when he was 10. After high school he worked at a governmental relations firm, volunteered at various community organizations and advocated for same-sex marriage equality. He has an A.A. degree from Santa Monica College and is pursuing a B.A. in American history at Columbia University, with an eventual goal of becoming an attorney specializing in constitutional law.

Freedom is paramount in the U.S., although at times it seems more like a motivating war cry mindlessly repeated by pandering politicians rather than an actual ideal to be actively pursued. But for those of us who find ourselves denied what others take for granted, the issue of freedom couldn’t be more real.

The First Amendment’s Establishment Clause guarantees separation of church and state. But like any freedom, it must be defended by those who cherish it.

Popularized in elementary schools nationwide, the semi-mythical tale of pilgrims fleeing England on the Mayflower illustrates the wrongheadedness of the Christian Right in terms they should be able to understand. The distraught worshippers fled the Church of England because it dictated what they must believe. Yet here we are, nearly 400 years later, facing the same issue from some of our political leaders.

A number of politicians are happy to let religion infiltrate government because their constituents can’t comprehend why anyone, properly introduced to the concept, would refuse to be a Christian. It appears to not matter that Christians already have a venue to espouse their beliefs in their churches. But they find themselves unsatisfied by that and have the gall to declare themselves oppressed.

The recent New York law legalizing gay marriage came with an opt-out “conscience clause” for clergy whose beliefs conflict with such unions. Yet, in typical hypocritical fashion, Christians are not willing to show the same respect to government institutions that are required by the Constitution to show no preference to any religion at all.

Christians wail about oppression when denied the chance to teach creationism in public schools, oblivious to the fact that non-Christians find creationism as distasteful as a Christian would find evolution in Sunday school.

The crux of the issue is power. Each generation is more secular than the previous one. Churches can feel their influence waning, so the obvious last-ditch solution is to indoctrinate young minds. Fortunately, many young minds are not so easily coerced.

Stuck in my own memory is the mockery I suffered as a fourth-grader in Oklahoma for being the only kid who admitted aloud believing that “people descended from monkeys.” It is very reassuring to see students today standing up for their right to science-based biology education, but it is a battle that must continually be waged.

We do not mean to prevent anyone from worshipping whatever god they may choose. Tolerance is the watchword of religious freedom. Most bible interpretations do not allow for tolerance or compromise, and in a multicultural nation we cannot survive without those virtues.

Christians would like to pretend that Quran-burning pastors and “God hates fags” sign-bearers are extremist outliers, but as someone who lives in a rural and very religious area, I can vouch that they are not. The xenophobic and sometimes racist sentiments are pervasive in areas where people rarely come into contact with anyone different from themselves. Atheism is synonymous with devil worship. Never mind the logical fallacy involved in thinking that.

Most disheartening is that many Christians don’t seem to care that freedom of, or from, religion is vitally important to every person on a very deep and personal level. Their perceived majority should be as unimportant to government policy as any racial or ethnic majority.

We will not allow any single, power-hungry group to jeopardize the freedom we value so dearly.

Colin Gillen, 32, was born in Skokie, Ill., and has lived in Washington, Oklahoma, Norway, Delaware, Nevada and Bedford, Pa. He’s a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown and is pursuing a double major in chemistry and applied mathematics. His interests include playing golf, watching baseball, writing, cooking, drinking wine and reading Christopher Hitchens and many other authors.

The common perception that 21st-century America successfully celebrates religion without infringing on the nation’s democratic process is a misconception. By continuing the infamous practice of amalgamating politics, law and religion, the U.S. has failed to maintain a healthy balance between church and state, resulting in a social climate ripe for disaster.

In the midst of a cataclysmic financial meltdown, a decade-long war and after the worst ecological disaster on record, effective leaders are needed now more than ever. Yet, more incumbents seem to be interested in the moral ethics of their party’s religious affiliation rather than in coming up with solutions to the nightmares that loom over our heads.

What is increasingly suspect is the extent to which both Democrats and Republicans pander to their spiritual constituents. In doing so, an important question is raised: Is America as religious as it appears? To answer this, one must first look at the breakdown of our population by faith.

In February 2008, the Pew Research Center released a 143-page report entitled “The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey.” It said that 16% of Americans defined themselves as unaffiliated, while roughly 75% subscribed to the Christian faith. Similarly, a 2010 Gallup Poll of 100,000 Americans reaffirmed the notion that 16% were, indeed, unaffiliated.

It behooves a politician to make face time with God.

But any survey taken via landline telephones can hardly be called perfectly accurate. The New York Times displayed a Nielsen report in 2008 that concluded over 17% of American homes no longer have landlines, which means those people were excluded from both studies. Curiously enough, of this group of cellphone-only users, two-thirds are under age 35.

Another Pew report outlining the religious makeup of the 2011-12 U.S. Congress show that the bulk of our legislative branch is comprised of Protestant (including many Baptists) and Catholic believers, while virtually no members claim unaffiliated status. Why is there such a bold contradiction? The answer is chilling.

The translucent truth unclothes a sordid power play: The candidate who is a nonbeliever limits his or her fan base to like-minded citizens, while the thrifty politician who applies just the correct amount of dogma will be able to obtain nods from the spiritual and unaffiliated alike. In other words, nonbelievers are forced to vote for a person who proclaims a faith whether they like it or not, so it behooves a politician to make face time with God.

With the heathen vote secure, a candidate is free to solicit in other markets by posing as a card-carrying member of a given faith. Having an “in” with a religion translates to results at the polls. One can assume that obtaining realistic demographic reports on religion will never be high on Washington’s to-do list (the Census Bureau doesn’t collect information of religious affiliation or practices). An accurate estimate of the unaffiliated population would only make the abuse of the First Amendment that much more noticeable.

Evidence of this quid pro quo relationship between religious groups and candidates is abundant. The [Lyndon] Johnson Amendment of 1954 limits interaction a nonprofit organization can have with an elected official. Orators in a house of worship are expressly forbidden to confirm their personal preference for a candidate from the pulpit, but many preachers are no longer abiding by the federal law, and reports of dissent are popping up everywhere. The Internal Revenue Service periodically investigates religious institutions for tax law violations, but penalties are rare.

As the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause continues to be challenged by the criminal acts of fundamentalists, the fragility of this law is often placed into the hands of our country’s higher courts for interpretation. Yet, can the same judges appointed by a pressured president be considered unbiased? With the nation’s highest office being won and lost over a spiritual preference, it should come as no surprise that not one nominated or confirmed Supreme Court justice, past or present, has ever admitted publicly to being a nonbeliever.

The progress and security of abortion, gay marriage and stem cell research have all been undermined because of spiritual constituent appeasement. Again, the unaffiliated are easily ignored.

As long as our beliefs are used against us as a form of political control, no American can claim that they are free from persecution. We must demand that religious references be cleared from all aspects of our government, be it in the form of a campaign speech or an incumbent’s routine address. Places of worship that violate tax codes must be punished so that their appointed shepherds keep true to both the notion of public service and the Constitution.

When religion is coveted above a healthy democracy, even the greatest of civilizations will topple under the accrued sacrifice.

Tyler Vunk, 34, Edgartown, Mass., is a third-year premed student at the University of New England, Biddeford, Maine. After completing a B.A. in music at age 21, he worked as a musician and songwriter. Tyler writes: “However, a few years ago, my love for science crept back in and so, after a lot of soul searching, I’ve decided to go to medical school to become a physician.”

There is a dangerous and pervasive movement to make America a theocracy and to return it to the fictitious “Christian roots” from whence it supposedly came. The mythology of our forefathers crafting a Christian nation for the purpose of free worship is deeply skewed and must be dispelled.

Many people point to the founders’ religious affiliations as evidence of deep religious motivations for their actions. Others take it a step further, saying they were endowed with a “divine purpose.” As these men are no longer around to shed light on this debate, we should let their words speak for themselves.

Thomas Jefferson, the man who coined the phrase “separation between church and state,” said, “Religions are all alike — founded upon fables and mythologies.” John Adams wrote, “The divinity of Jesus is made a convenient cover for absurdity.” James Madison insisted, “In no instance have . . . the churches been guardians of the liberties of the people.”

Any concerns about context or connotation can be alleviated with the conciseness of a lesser-known axiom, “Lighthouses are more helpful than churches,” courtesy of Benjamin Franklin. Thomas Paine continues to be a thorn in Christian revisionists’ sides as well, with numerous documented accounts describing his open contempt for Christianity.

The Constitution is what unequivocally protects us from a theocracy.

Our forefathers, in fact, realized the insidious nature of religion in government and took many measures to keep it out. It is now our job to uphold them.

To counter this increasingly popular view of America’s beginnings, one must examine the documents that are the very core of this country: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Pledge of Allegiance. The phrase, “endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights,” in the Declaration of Independence is a favorite for the Christian heritage crowd. But Jefferson’s original words, “All men are created equal and independent. From that equal creation they derive rights inherent and inalienable,” make no mention of any creator at all. This carefully chosen wording did not make it to the final draft after congressional revisions.

In the Constitution, some re­ferences to religion are coyer, while others are obvious safeguards against entangling church and state. One such barrier is in the First Amendment, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

While the Establishment Clause clearly states that America indeed has no established religion, James Madison’s initial proposal of this amendment removes any remaining ambiguity: “The civil rights of none shall be abridged on account of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national religion be established, nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience be in any manner, or on any pretext, infringed.”

No religious test

With regard to holding office, Article 6 states, “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” Supposedly, this protects candidates from discrimination based on their religion, or lack thereof.

A subtler irreligious reference is found in the original presidential oath: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of the President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

By including “or affirm,” the Constitution includes those who are without a higher power to “swear” to. Despite all constitutionally mandated separation, the most prevalent American oath, the Pledge of Allegiance, openly acquiesces to service and commitment “under God.” This can in no way be interpreted as indicative of religious intentions from the author, as the phrase was added over 60 years later as propaganda to separate us from our communist (and atheist) enemies during the 1950s. Francis Bellamy’s original version reads, “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

While the Declaration of Independence and the Pledge of Allegiance are both important, the Constitution is what unequivocally protects us from a theocracy. But regardless of the protections in Article 6, several state laws do not allow anyone who does not acknowledge a supreme creator to be elected. The Texas Constitution, for example, says, “No religious test shall ever be required as qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall anyone be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being.”

Tennessee, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Mississippi, Maryland and Arkansas all similarly discriminate. Some state laws, such as Arkansas, even allow for the testimony of a witness to be dismissed based on their lack of religious belief: “No person who denies the being of a God shall hold any office in the civil departments of this state, nor be competent to testify as a witness in any court.”

With a new fundamentalist movement growing in size and political strength, it is imperative we do not shirk our responsibilities as secular Americans. The wall between state and church is under attack, and it is our duty to fiercely protect it. It is our job as freethinkers, humanists and atheists to defend the real history of this country by reinforcing this separation and our rights as nonbelievers before both cease to exist.

As Thomas Paine said, “It is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what one does not believe.”

Christina Speck, 26, is an education major and psychology minor at Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas. She has an associate’s degree from Tarrant County College and is pursuing a bachelor of interdisciplinary studies degree and math teaching certification for grades four through eight. Christina is a graduate of South Grand Prairie High School. Her interests include reading, writing and almost anything athletic.

The year was 1998. I was 12 and starting seventh grade at Dayton Christian Middle School, a nondenominational institution determined to provide children with an education saturated with evangelism and religious dogma.

My first class was social studies. History had always been one of my favorite subjects, and I was excited to make a good first impression. Mr. Tatum opened his first lecture by asking us what the word “history” meant, and my hand shot up through the air. I’m sure that I grimaced with the kind of squirmy know-it-all impatience only fellow bookworms can relate to (and that we quickly learn to suppress in high school).

When Mr. Tatum called on me, I was confident in my response: “History is a Greek word that means ‘inquiry’ and ‘learning through investigation.’ ” Mr. Tatum looked at me for a second, and in a moment that has forever burned itself into my memory, curtly and rhetorically rebutted, “Sure, but what does it really mean? History really means ‘His story!’ ”

He went on to describe how the linear progression of our culture’s historical development had been guided by the Christian god, how the United States was an exceptional nation, a new Israel of chosen people, and that to understand the past we had to study it through the lens of a “biblical worldview.” This was a much different kind of social studies than what I was used to, having only left public school the year before. Taken aback and a bit frustrated, I became reluctant to participate in later discussions throughout the year, preferring instead to simply read “worldly” books.

While freethinkers might interpret this anecdote as a radical anomaly only possible at a parochial school, this is not (and has never been) the case. From the execution of Socrates for (among other things) his blasphemous questioning of the gods to the Texas Board of Education’s recent obsession with Christianizing our nation’s history, educators have been under constant pressure to incorporate mainstream religion into the curriculum.

Omitted, of course, are any texts related to state-church separation.

This is, perhaps, most obvious and contentious in science classrooms, where the teaching of climate change, plate tectonics and evolution have been loudly challenged. Yet science education, steeped in empirical methods and facts, has a distinct advantage over religion, forcing many religious leaders to reject and/or alter their ideologies in an effort to incorporate their beliefs into a freshly rediscovered natural world.

Nearly everyone today accepts that the sun is the center of our solar system, and many religious denominations work to ease the tension between science and their bibles by adopting tolerant political worldviews and by constructing pseudo-scientific doctrines such as “long-day creationism.” Indeed, the authority of science is so deeply ingrained in our culture that, rather than reject it, religions have begun to steal its terminology to justify their beliefs.

But that is not the case with history. While grounded in primary sources, archival material and records, history also depends on oral testimony, recollection and, perhaps most of all, written material. How we understand the past is driven by the historical narratives we are taught, and these narratives can often be extremely difficult to demystify or disprove.

When history education in public schools emphasizes only the religious beliefs of some of our nation’s founders and fails to disclose Thomas Paine’s skepticism or the role of religion in perpetuating the Atlantic slave trade, secular teaching transforms into religious advocacy.

Politicians are well aware of this, and many are more than happy to pass legislation meant to impose contemporary Christian evangelicalism onto the pages of history textbooks. A recent North Carolina bill called for schools to display “objects of historical significance that have formed and influenced the United States’ legal or governmental system.” One example offered in the bill is the Ten Commandments. Omitted, of course, are any texts related to state-church separation, even though many of our nation’s most powerful political ideologues (such as Thomas Jefferson and Roger Williams) advocated for just such a division. In Texas, the State Board of Education chairman proclaimed that history textbooks should reflect his belief that “America was built on biblical ideas.” That insistency forced him to initially call for Thomas Jefferson to be replaced by Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin in a section devoted to great political thinkers.

Secular school battles

Such lunacy is nothing new. When public schools first began to secularize in the mid-19th century, the Religious Right responded similarly to their modern-day successors: by ostracizing those calling for freedom of thought and by attempting to infuse their already dominant beliefs more deeply into the political framework.

The Cincinnati public school system in 1869 decided to ban bibles, prayer and hymns. As more and more European immigrants moved to the city, many of whom had just fought in the Civil War, it became harder to label their “Romanism, Atheism and Infidelity” (as one newspaper put it) as “un-American.” Regardless, Cincinnati’s fundamentalist Protestants took the issue all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court, which decided in favor of the school board in 1872 and led the way to secularization for countless other school districts.

In fact, one of my favorite freethinkers, J.B. Stallo, was a German immigrant who served as a lawyer for the school board during its Supreme Court battle. He was also a political philosopher who, in a lecture entitled “State Creeds and Their Modern Apostles,” delivered in a local church during the Cincinnati uproar, claimed that, “Government can protect and help to maintain religion, as well as everything else which constitutes the life of the soul, only in one way: by guarding the freedom of its development. Whoever asks it to do more is seeking to convert it into an abominable engine of tyranny and oppression.”

I like to imagine it was with this in mind that Stallo made his case for a United States that “at least ought to be, not a Christian, but a free people.” That phrase certainly wouldn’t be welcome in a Texas or North Carolina history textbook.

Religion may, indeed, be co-opting scientific language to further its own ends and force its way into science education, but it looks to recast history in its own image. The racism, misogyny — remember, it’s “His story!” — and cultural chauvinism inherent in the history of our national state was, at times, deeply tied to our nation’s adherence to religion.

To ignore that — to, in effect, only show the mixture of religion and government as positive — is willfully misleading. Educators, and especially history teachers, should certainly be discussing the role of religion in their classrooms, but to approach that topic from a “biblical worldview” is to do our past a grave disservice.

Students, teachers, and our national community would be much better off worrying less about “His story” and focusing more on our own. Only then can we truly fulfill the meaning of history — an honest and open investigation in which skepticism, critical thinking and questions are preferable to biblically mandated answers.

Matthew Mingus, 25, is a native of Catawba, Ohio, and has a B.A. in history, philosophy and political science from Ashland [Ohio] University and an M.A. in European history from the University of Florida, where he’s pursuing a Ph.D. in the same field. His primary focus is the cartographic redevelopment and occupation of post-World War II Germany. Matthew is interested in modern German history, European intellectual and cultural history, maps and the history of cartography. He lives in Gainesville, Fla., with his partner, Lindsey, and his dog, Dixie.

God has appointed Putin to Russia to prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ. Mother Fontina, leader of the Temple of the Resurrection of Russia, a sect which believes Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is St. Paul reincarnated Der Spiegel, 9-29-11

When you elected me, you elected Jesus. Don Merricks, Virginia House of Delegates, supporting sectarian prayer by the Pittsylvania County Commission Danville Register & Bee, 9-6-11

There are circles of villains seeking to give away parts of this land to our enemies. Luckily, God Almighty causes the camel riders [Palestinians] to refuse to meet with the government. Rabbi Dov Lior, Kiryat Arba, criticizing left-wing Israelis Jewish World, 9-20-11

I think Mitt Romney’s a good moral man, but I think those of us who are born-again followers of Christ should always prefer a competent Christian to a competent non-Christian like Mitt Romney. So that’s why I’m enthusiastic about Rick Perry. Rev. Robert Jeffress, First Baptist Church of Dallas pastor, speaking on CNN after endorsing Texas Gov. Rick Perry for president at the Family Research Council’s Values Voters Summit, where he called Mormonism “a cult” “The Situation Room,” 10-8-11

A Catholic law school should be a place where it is clear, though perhaps unspoken, that the here-and-now is less important, when all is said and done, than the hereafter. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, speech at Duquesne University Law School Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 9-25-11

I gave fear up for Lent this year. Catholic U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., on his willingness to push ideas unpopular with the majority such as replacing Medicare with vouchers CNN, 9-26-11

If you want to be addicted to something, be addicted to Jesus because he never runs out. He’s free and you can get as much as you want and there’s no hangover. Hallelujah! Pastor Terry Prong, Cosby, Tenn., leading Cocke County’s weeklong tent revival to fight drug abuse WBIR News, 19-3

I personally believe that someday we’re going to stand before God, and he’s going to pull out a ballot and say, “How did you vote in this election?” And there are going to be people who say, “Why do you care about that, God?” And he’s going to say, “Because I created that country and I put you in charge.” Ken Eldred, venture capitalist behind Champion the Vote, a project seeking to register 5 million conservative Christians nationwide Los Angeles Times, 9-15-11

He’s known for his vulgarity, he is very anti-religious, and since I think we are the only institution on this block, it would be an insult. Fr. Raymond Rafferty, Corpus Christi Catholic Church, objecting to renaming a Manhattan street after comedian George Carlin, a Corpus Christi School alumnus WABC New York, 10-10-11

You can safely assume that you have created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do. Quotation by novelist Anne Lamott included in FatherBen’s online comment on the Champion the Vote project Los Angeles Times, 9-15-11

God is telling us that government is not the answer. We have to stop looking for solutions in the wrong places. Rev. Rene Monette, Living Word Church, Houma, La., “The foundation of our country” The Courier, 9-9-11

She is passionate for the Lord Jesus Christ who has given her the gifts and freedom to bring healing to the world through upper cervical care. Web bio for Dr. Rebecca Basilio, who practices “Christ-centered” chiropractic with her husband in Vista, Calif. nuccawellness.com, 9-12-11

I know it sounds cruel, but if he’s going to do something, he should divorce her and start all over again, but make sure she has custodial care and somebody looking after her. . . . If you respect that vow, you say, “Till death do us part.” This is a kind of death. Rev. Pat Robertson, about a man’s extramarital affair because his wife has Alzheimer’s disease “The 700 Club,” 9-14-11

Several leading rabbinic figures have weighed in on the continuing furor surrounding the expulsion of four Israel Defense Forces soldiers from the officer’s training school last week for refusing to return to an event involving women singing after instructed to do so by their commanding officer. It is generally held that according to Jewish law, men may not listen to a woman singing in person, a situation the Talmud considers akin to seeing a woman naked. News story, “Rabbis differ over women singing in army” Jerusalem Post, 9-16-11

The premise is simple: Haggard and Busey will swap wives for a short time. The first couple of days, the husbands make the rules for their new “spouses.” After that, the wives take charge. The fun could come from the conflict between Haggard and his reality wife (no word if it’s Busey’s fiancee and mother of his new son, or one of his ex-wives), whom sources say is a spiritual woman but not a fan of organized religion. News story on disgraced Pastor Ted Haggard and actor Gary Busey appearing on the ABC reality series “Celebrity Wife Swap” Colorado Springs Gazette, 9-20-11

The group of nurses provide their service with Christ-like love to address both the physical and emotional needs of their patients through the program, which meets seven times a year. News story on the Pamper and Prayer Foot Clinic in Holland, Mich. Holland Sentinel, 9-26-11

As has become increasingly clear ever since Sept. 11, religion is alive and kicking, and America is blundering its way through the 21st century, its education system trapped in the secularist fantasies of Thomas Jefferson and his Enlightenment pals. Op-ed by Tom Moore, sophomore in the Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences Cornell Daily Sun, 9-27-11

God showed me how to do it, baptize people in the fire of the Holy Spirit. This is not bad after all. It’s a blessing in disguise. Taukinukufili Taufa, Brisbane, Australia, who ran the Church of Baptism With Fire & Holy Spirit in a house where his wife, daughter, three grandchildren and six extended family members died in a fire New Zealand Herald, 9-20-11

Andrew Schmeltzer, an English teacher and assistant baseball coach at Wilson Central High School, sang along to student-led hymns but said he was careful to step aside when prayers began. “As long as I don’t do any leadership with that, that’s fine,” he said. News story on a See You at the Pole school prayer event in Lebanon, Tenn. The Tennessean, 9-29-11

Do I think religion should be in school? Heck yeah. FCA gives me and the others the opportunity to reach the lost and secondly to grow with each other. Teachers can’t share Christ with students, but FCA is a chance for us to do that. Sophomore Michael Bookwalter, Johnson High School, Gainesville, Ga., on the Fellowship of Christian Athletes club that meets in the school library Gainesville Times, 10-2-11

At Reformed Theological Seminary, our classroom teaching, the very same courses by the very same professors, as well as sermons and teaching by some of the most notable pastors of our generation, are being downloaded onto Macs, and yes, even PCs, as well as iPads and iPhones all over the Earth. Michael Milton, chancellor-elect of Reformed Theological Seminary, “Bible publishers mourn death of Steve Jobs” bosnewslife.com, 10-6-11

I think it’s Satan involved in it. I think that we just all need to get together and show our Lord how much we love them and appreciate him for dying on that cross for us. Debbie Welch, speaking at a high school football game in Summit, Miss., where the superintendent read an FFRF letter of complaint about school-sanctioned prayer at athletic events WLBT News, 10-10-11

We’re praying to a God who loves us and asking his protection over this football game and over these people. I see nothing wrong with that. Pig Terrell, prayer supporter in Summit, Miss. WLBT News, 10-10-11

This is sheer bigotry. If the country club had said, “I’m not having Dawkins speak because he’s a Jew, or because he’s black, or because he’s gay,” they would never get away with it. Richard Dawkins, on the Wyndgate Country Club’s refusal to host a Center for Inquiry dinner in Rochester Hills, Mich., because Dawkins was a guest speaker Detroit Free Press, 10-12-11

I think being an atheist is something you are, not something you do. I’m not sure we need to be honored. We don’t need positive reinforcement. On the other hand, we do need to stick up for ourselves, especially in a place like Texas, where they have laws, I think, that if you don’t believe in Jesus Christ you can’t run for sheriff. Christopher Hitchens, interviewed at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston New York Times, 10-9-11

Religion teaches you to be satisfied with nonanswers. It’s a sort of crime against childhood. Richard Dawkins, profile headlined “An Original Thinker Who Bashes Orthodoxy” New York Times, 9-20-11

Rev. Martin E. Marty, a Lutheran minister and one of the most distinguished religious scholars in this country, once suggested to me that all of these seemingly symbolic battles over matters such as school prayer and displays of the Ten Commandments in courthouses are really about “ownership and dominion” rather than faith. These symbolic acts are saying to religious minorities and atheists, “This is our country. Whatever the Constitution says, whatever you may believe, we Christians are the ones in charge.” Author Susan Jacoby, “The Spirited Atheist” Washington Post, 9-14-11

I wish we were back in the day when we worried about foreign policy experience or whether somebody dodged the draft when we sorted through presidential candidates. That way, I wouldn’t feel like a bigot because I don’t want somebody like Governor Perry, who orders his staff to pray for rain to end a drought and thinks God controls Earth’s thermostat. Columnist Susan Reimer, “Are they running for president or pastor?” Baltimore Sun, 9-19-11

Casting him as a director or star of Judah Maccabee is like casting Bernie Madoff to be the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Rabbi Marvin Hier, Simon Wiesenthal Center, on the possibility of Mel Gibson portraying the Judean priest who commanded the resistance to Greek forces c. 165 B.C.E. CNN, 9-8-11

We’ve got girls! Chant by Cincinnati Colerain High School students to football opponents from St. Xavier, a Jesuit all-male school Cincinnati Enquirer, 9-9-11

We’ve got Jesus! Response chant by St. Xavier fans to Colerain fans Cincinnati Enquirer, 9-9-11 Like the Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts have been exposing children to sexual predators for decades. In the process, they’ve also exposed themselves to enormous financial liability. Grier Weeks, director of PROTECT, a child abuse prevention group, commenting on suits by 35 individuals who allege molestation by Scout leaders in 11 states since 2007 Reuters, 9-13-11

I’ve worked with many creationists and I can honestly say that most of them are not ignorant about science. In fact, Mr. Cantor, the founder of the ministry that runs the museum, started a successful biotech company out of his gar-age and recently built a state-of-the-art plasma donation center. They’re just delusional when it comes to creationism. Chemist John Viggiano, San Diego New Atheists and Agnostics, organizing a “positive protest” of the Creation and Earth History Museum, Santee, Calif. meetup.com/atheists-518, 9-7-11

I run around the stadium looking for Jews. I get a lot of them here at the hot dog stand. David Goldis, Hollywood, Fla., accountant, on trying to get a quorum of 10 men in order to have a public prayer minyan at Florida Marlins baseball games Miami Herald, 9-18-11

God might not be able to stop death, but it seems pretty good at getting taxes down for the clergy. Editorial supporting FFRF’s “parish exemption” lawsuit The Spectrum (SUNY-Buffalo), 9-18-11

The still-common claim that nine out of ten Americans still believe in God is an outright falsehood. When asked if they believe in God or not, about 90 percent say yes, but when asked about whether or not they believe in God or a higher power or universal spirit, the actual God-believing theists drop to eight in ten. Two Harris polls also show that a fifth of Americans are atheistic to a greater or lesser degree. Researcher Gregory Paul, “Atheism on the upswing in America” Washington Post, 9-20-11

For years and years, I would prostrate myself on the floor and ask God to change me. Maybe if I just pray more, fast more, do more “works of charity,” the male attraction will go away. After more than 30 years of trying to “burn” the evil out of me, I finally came out at age 54. Ron Bates op-ed, “Growing up Catholic and gay in Minnesota” Minneapolis Star Tribune, 8-31-11

Mixing politics and religion is like mixing manure and ice cream. It doesn’t do much to the manure, but it surely does ruin the ice cream. Quote attributed to Will Rogers in editorial by Assistant City Editor Kevin O’Hanlon, “Pray that prayer of the day doesn’t stray” Lincoln [Neb.] Journal Star, 4-1-11

According to a [Michigan State University] survey, in a scant two decades, the number of Americans “uncertain” about evolution has tripled. What’s worse, roughly a third of the nation believes evolution to be “absolutely false.” Only Turkey ranks lower in such basic smarts. Thanks, megachurches! Columnist Mark Morford, “How to make a creationist weep” San Francisco Chronicle, 9-21-11

In today’s column you advised a 16-year-old to consult with a pastor about how to tell his parents he does not want to be a part of their church. Another option for him would be to contact the Freedom From Religion Foundation for help. Many members have gone through exactly what this young man is experiencing and can offer ideas other than consulting a pastor, who has a vested interest in keeping his flock together. Carolyn Kerr, Denair, Calif., response to syndicated columnist “Ask Amy” Dickinson’s advice to “Teen churchgoer finds faith faltering” Chicago Tribune, 10-9-11

We’re here to counter the majority view of the people that are here in the Values Voter Summit, which is more of an arrogant, morally presumptuous point of view where they feel that it’s OK for people in a public sphere to proselytize their religious beliefs and introduce it into government. An atheist named Jeff, helping staff an information table outside the Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C. New York Magazine, 10-8-11

I didn’t want to talk. I was terrified of saying I was an atheist. When I spoke, I heard a gasp. I knew then that people didn’t share my beliefs. It was an unwelcoming atmosphere. People belittled me and treated me like a little kid. Jessica Ahlquist, 16, on objecting to a school board committee to a Christian prayer banner in the auditorium at Cranston [R.I.] High School West Providence Journal, 10-11-11

That is ill-considered by any school, public or private. It should be at the cost of losing their public funding. Lori Johnson, executive director of the Klinic Community Health Centre and the Sexuality Education Research Centre, on students at Christ the King Catholic School, which gets half of its funding from taxpayers, getting community service credits for attending abortion protests in Winnipeg, Canada National Post, 10-12-11

Warren Allen Smith, 90, FFRF member, is pictured in New York City on Oct. 10 during the Wall Street protests. The back of his sign says TAX THE CHURCH! Acting 1st Sgt. Smith led his company onto Omaha Beach in 1944 and became a chief clerk for an adjutant general in Gen. Dwight Eisenhower’s Supreme Headquarters American Expeditionary Forces command.